SOE in Denmark, and Desolation Canyon by P.J. Tracy

 September has finally arrived, although it will be a while before it feels like fall.  I still have a lot of books to review from August, and I'll have to make myself get some of them scheduled.  Procrastination.  Instead of reviewing, I often just start another book.  Do you do that?  

It is 88 this morning with a heat index of 97 degrees; the high today will be 99--so the heat index will be at least 108.  Combined with the onset of allergy season and the itchy eyes, sneezing, and overall tiredness, I'm not feeling any incentive to do much today.  Weeds, be damned.  

I slowed down on my Nightmare Catchers in August, and have only three in progress.  Almost done, but they've been waiting on completion for a while. 

 

SOE in Denmark is an overview of SOE operations in Denmark written shortly after the war.  (Special Operations Executive) 

"SOE in Denmark was written at a time when SOE was still largely unknown to the general public and its operations a closely guarded secret. It was expected that its activities would never be officially acknowledged and the study of its actions in Denmark was compiled with the aim of provide a lasting record of its achievement."

While the book offers an account of the SOE's operations and collaboration with the Danish agents, it is an official report and lacks personal information about the agents who risked their lives.  The Appendices offer more information and reference material.  I was a little startled to find that approximately 2/3 of the book was the reference material, important and informative.

Having read Between Silk and Cyanide by Leo Marks (son of Benjamin Marks, antiquarian bookseller of Marks & Co and 84, Charing Cross Road fame), I mistakenly thought SOE in Denmark would be similar.  

It isn't.  It is, nevertheless, important.  I  wish someone had recorded a more detailed account of  the individuals involved in the resistance to the Nazi Occupation of Denmark. Although SOE in Denmark lacks the human aspect, it is historically interesting.

(Some of the most famous female SOE agents were in France and included Nancy Wake, Violette Szabo, Odette Sansom, and Noor Inayat Khan--they have been written about many times. I wish we knew more about the Danish agents.)  

NetGalley/Frontline Books

WWII History.  Sept. 21, 2021.  Print length:  208 pages.

Desolation Canyon is the second book in this new series by P.J. Tracy.  

The series has several problems: 

While the author seems to want Detective Margaret Nolan to be the lead character, she wasn't the main character in Deep Into the Dark, and she isn't in Desolation Canyon.  

Too many fantastic coincidences and unbelievable plot lines.

No humor.

I miss the Monkeewrench gang! 

NetGalley/Minotaur Books 

Jan. 18, 2022.  Print length:  320 pages

The Indomitable Florence Finch: The Untold Story of a War Wido Turned Resistance Fighter and Savior of American POWs by Robert J. Mrazek

I read this in January, and it was one of my favorite books that month--a good opening to the new year.

The title belongs to Florence, and she ties everything together, but this is as much about the invasion of the Philippines by Imperial Japan as it is about Florence.

Florence was working at the G-2 (Intelligence) Headquarters in Manila under the command of Lt. Colonel E.C. (Carl) Engelhart when she met and married Charles (Bing) Smith, USN.  After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Bing reported to his PT boat and was involved in the defense of Corregidor where he died in action.  They had been married for only six months.  

Engelhart was captured after the fall of Corregidor and sent to a POW camp in Cabanatuan, where he began keeping a record of his time in captivity and the help provided by Florence and others to the POWs.

Disturbing to me was the failure of General MacArthur to act according to the strategic plan in place (a when, not if, the Japanese continued their encroachment in the Pacific).  Had he done so, the outcome in the Philippines may have been different.

Florence managed to obtain work with the Japanese-controlled Philippine Liquid Fuel Distributing Union, and working with the Philippine Underground, she was able to divert fuel supplies to the resistance.  She also worked with others to smuggle in food and medicine to the POWs.  The consequences of being caught meant torture and probable death.  

In 1944, the Japanese finally caught on.  Florence was arrested and tortured.  When finally rescued by American forces in 1945, she weighed only 80 pounds.  

I've only touched briefly on some of the events in the book, but it was well-written and fascinating.  The documentation of the work is extensive, and in large part, from primary sources.  

Highly recommended! 

Read in January; blog review scheduled for June 1, 2020.

NetGalley/Hatchette Books
Biography/Memoir/WWII.  June 16, 2020.  Print length:  368 pages.

Dick Cole's War by Dennis R. Okerstrom

Dick Cole's War by Dennis R. Okerstrom was a gift from my son-in-law and personally inscribed by Dick Cole, the last of the famous Doolittle Raiders, who was at Barksdale Air Force Base recently.  Even at 102, Cole was signing copies of Okerstrom's book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned a great deal, not only about the famous Tokyo Raid with pilot Jimmy Doolittle and co-pilot Dick Cole, but about Hump Pilots, the CBI (China, Burma, India theater), the Air Commandos--and much more.

One poignant moment occurs when on Dec. 7, Cole writes his mother to say that he won't be home for Christmas after all.   No need to say why leave has been canceled.

The problem with letters was a consistent one throughout the war.  Longed for and appreciated and re-read, but not timely.  Even today, it takes about 3 weeks for my letters to Melody to arrive in Singapore.  As much as servicemen longed for word from home, letters took a long time and sometimes arrived out of order.  Nevertheless, the letters to and from home are an important documentation of the war.

As we often note when reading history, authors can take a fascinating event or period and suck the life out of it, or as Okerstrom does, pull you in and make you feel a part of the historical drama.  

You can't see all of the pages I marked, but you can probably tell that I'd have trouble trying to include all of the information that gripped my interest in the pic I took of my copy--before I quit even trying to flag all the parts that intrigued me.  

Following Dick Cole is an ideal way to look at the war in the Pacific and Asia because he was involved in so many important missions during the war--his first was the Doolittle Raid over Tokyo, but his time as a hump pilot and as an air commando part of Project 9 were also critically important roles.  The information about the gliders was just one amazing element.

I knew very little about this portion of WWII, and so I would frequently be stunned at the difficulties and complications involved.  

My admiration for the men involved and for Dennis R. Okerstrom for making the book such an informative and engrossing read is immense.

Dick Cole's War should be on the list for anyone interested in WWII and the Pacific arena.  

Nonfiction.  2015.  336 pages.

Below is the front of the postcard I made for Chris as a thank you note--the message and correct postage are on the other side.  I was pleased to have a few stamps that featured planes even if they were only for air mail.

Three More Catch-Up Reviews

Ellicott's Murder in an English Village is a light, cozy  mystery set in 1920.  

Blurb:  "As friends, the boisterous and brash American Beryl couldn't be less alike than the prim and proper British Edwina. But as sleuths in an England recovering from the Great War, they're the perfect match . . ."

The friends won't compete with Miss Marple, but a quick read, and I like the cover.

NetGalley/Kensington Books 

Historical Mystery.  Oct. 31, 2017.  Print length:  304 pages.



Block 46 is one of those books that has gotten rave reviews from a blog tour, but fair warning, it is a gruesome book about the serial murders of children.

Taking advantage of the current popularity of Nordic Noir, the book moves back and forth between Sweden and London for the contemporary portion of the novel.  It also moves back and forth in time as the genesis of the present-day child murders has roots in the Buchenwald Concentration Camp in 1944.

The  style is choppy--moving from one point of view to another, from place to place, and from past to  present.  The two female protagonists are an interesting combination--acquaintances more than friends.  Emily Roy is a profiler and Alexis Castells is a true crime writer.  Only hints of their backgrounds are given and will no doubt be expanded on in their next outing.

I wasn't convinced by either of the roles of the protagonists, however; Emily's profiler skills are pretty specific, but not always helpful initially in making progress in the case.  Alexis is involved because she was close friends with a woman murdered in the same manner as the children, and since she is, coincidentally, a true crime writer--she is accepted into the investigation. ?

The "project" (the reason for the deaths of the children) goes back to medical experiments in Buchenwald, but the purpose is never explained.  

Not eager to read more by this author as neither the characters nor the plot appealed much to me.

Read in September.

NetGalley/Trafalgar Square Publ.

Crime.  Oct. 1, 2017.  Print length: 300 pages.

Yep, I know I've been fascinating with a lot of WWII nonfiction--and most of it has been as fascinating as fiction.  Most of it, however, has been specific to England, Bletchley Park, the SOE, Turing, the Blitz, and MI5 or MI6.

Code Girls differs because it addresses the American code breakers, and most particularly the women who were recruited initially from elite women's colleges and then from teachers' colleges.  It covers the way the Navy and the Army recruited these women, continuing to broaden their nets to enlist more and more to decipher, decode, and translate German and Japanese messages.

Code Girls provides impeccable research into previously classified materials about the women cryptographers whose crucial efforts saved thousands of lives and were mostly unacknowledged.

The first of the book was absolutely fascinating, but there are portions that become a bit repetitive.   These women contributed greatly to the success of the war, and I love that Liza Mundy has provided recognition of their important efforts.

Read in July/August.

NetGalley/Hatchette Books

History/Nonfiction.  Oct. 10, 2017.  Print length: 500 pages.   

The Alphabet House by Jussi Adler-Olsen

The Alphabet House

So very different from the Department Q series (which I love), The Alphabet House was originally published in 1997 and is a stand alone novel that begins when two British pilots on a mission to photograph areas near Dresden, Germany during WWII.  It is suspected that the Germans are building new factories that might be devastating to the British war effort.

James Teasdale and Bryan Young, the young pilots, are shot down during the mission; they manage to escape capture and board a hospital train, which ends up at a mental hospital deep inside Germany.  Although Germany has previously made eliminating the mentally ill a matter of course, these wounded soldiers are all of high rank, and it would not serve Germany well to dispose of them. 

 Experimental meds and frequent shock treatments are utilized to cure these shell-shocked or mentally ill officers.  As soon as possible, they are returned to the front lines.  Anyone suspected of malingering is summarily executed.

As it turns out,  James and Bryan are not the only ones pretending mental/emotional damage, so are a number of others in their ward.  Fear of returning to the fighting, especially on the Eastern Front, keeps many from wanting to be "cured."  Among the malingerers are three particularly nasty individuals who discuss their war crimes gleefully at night.  When these three suspect that James has overheard their discussions of hidden war profit, they begin waging a terrible campaign against him.  Both Bryan and James are unable to do much about it without revealing that they, too, are feigning insanity.  Eventually, Bryan is able to escape.

The story is divided into two parts; the first part deals with the WWII portion of the story and the asylum in which the two young men find themselves, and the second portion occurs thirty years later when Bryan makes a final attempt to locate James.

The novel is long, but fascinating and horrific (the asylum). 

NetGalley/Penguin Group

WWII/Suspense.  1997; Feb. 24, 2015.  Print version:  480 pages.

Dominion by C.J. Sansom

Dominion    

Notice the slight touch of red on the armband.  A British Bobby with that armband?  What a terrifying image.  

How strange that in all of the reading I've done over the years about WWII, both in fact and fiction, I've never considered what would have happened if Germany had won the war; if Britain, like France, had surrendered; if the U.S. had remained neutral.  The first pages of Dominion made me consider the possibility, and it appalled me.        

Sansom's alternate history presents a chilling picture.  What if Halifax, not Churchill, had succeeded Chamberlain?  It could so easily have happened; Churchill had many opponents and Halifax had many supporters.  The horrors of WWI were not that far behind the British and support of appeasement was still strong.  

Given what Great Britain suffered in WWI (only about 20 years behind them when another war threatened), one can understand that many were reluctant to take on Hitler's Germany.  It is fortunate that Churchill, despite his flaws and political adversaries, became Prime Minister and was able to build a war cabinet to meet the threat.

In Sansom's alternate version of events, Halifax does, albeit somewhat reluctantly, become Prime Minister, and after the disastrous defeat of the Allies in Norway and the fall of France (the U.S. was still neutral at the time), accepts Hitler's offer of peace.  Great Britain is subsequently occupied.  Lord Beaverbrook becomes Prime Minister in this version of events, and Sansom's alternate Great Britain becomes more and more fascist.   

Part of me protests at the British acceptance of this situation, but I suppose it is like the frog and boiling water metaphor...even big changes, if they are gradual enough, are likely to be tolerated.  It happened in Germany.  I suppose it could happen anywhere.  (i.e. The Wave by Todd Strausser and The Children's Story by James Clavell illustrate how easily this conversion can be managed; oh, and Milgram's experiments).

There is a Resistance, however, that operates much as the French Resistance did in real life.  David Fitzgerald is called on to get his University friend Frank out of the country.  Frank is a scientist and has learned something that the Gestapo wants.  David's spying and the attempt to rescue Frank put the entire cell in danger.  And David has a secret of his own.

I won't go into anymore of the plot, but I will add that this book was a kind of eye-opener. Germany's defeat has always seemed inevitable to me, an accomplished fact that I did not question; my imagination didn't take me any further.  Dominion envisions an alternate rendering of events that makes the blood run cold.  It is considering this possibility that makes the book so good.

Sansom takes real individuals like Beaverbrook and Oswald Mosely and many others and imagines their participation in his alternative government, adding verisimilitude to the premise.  His Biographical Note is full of excellent information about the social and political period from the 1930's to the 1950's.  He also includes his own Historical Note of his own opinions.  

For anyone with an interest in WWII, Dominion offers much to ponder.  I will be thinking about this novel for some time to come.


NetGalley/Mulholland.

Alternate History.  Jan. 2014.  Print version:  640 pages.  

Teasers on Books to Be Released in the Next Few Months

Some of my recent reading has been from Net Galley sent to my Kindle.  Some are excellent, of course, and some are not.  I've  enjoyed the following, though I haven't reviewed them yet, and haven't even finished The Secret Lives of Codebreakers.

 The Secret Lives of Codebreakers:  The Men and Women Who Cracked the Enigma Code at Bletchley Park by Sinclair McKay is my current read.  The book won't be released until Sept. 25--so my review will have to wait until closer to publication, but I can tell you that it is one of the most interesting books I've read in a long time.  The nonfiction account of Bletchley Park is fascinating; I'm about 1/2 way through and have highlighted something on almost every page.

McKay writes nonfiction with the same attention to detail and suspense that you might find in a spy novel.  I've mentioned before my interest in Bletchley Park and the Enigma machine (and cryptography and code breakers in general), but I have to admit that I expected the book to be on the dry side.  Not at all the case!  Codebreakers is an absolute pleasure to read, and I return to it with enthusiasm each time.

I've finished, but must also hold the review for Peaches for Father Francis by Joanne Harris which continues the story of Vienne Rocher that Harris began with Chocolate and continued with  The Girl with No Shadow.  I've enjoyed all three of these books and several others by Harris.  They are all light reading, magical realism.














The Joy Brigade by Martin Limon is due out at the end of this month and is set in North Korea in the 1970s.  The information about North Korea and the Joy Brigade (distasteful as it is) was worth the read, but I found the story itself less satisfying.  As I know little about North Korea other than the what I read in the news or know about the Korean War from brief comments, books about North Korea interest me.

I did a little research to see if there really is a Joy Brigade-- unfortunately, yes.  However, the Manchurian Battalion did not exist.

Also found some sad, but interesting info about an incident called the Axe Murders in which two unarmed American officers were slain by North Korean soldiers in 1976.  Not connected to the book's narrative, but provide interesting insight to the existing tensions at the DMZ.

Another interesting look at life in the closed society of North Korea is A Corpse in the Koryo by James Church.

The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro (due out in Oct.) provides an intriguing look at art theft and art forgery.  There really is an Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, but the story is fiction.  Claire Roth is a young artist, who due to a difficult situation in the past, finds herself pretty much blacklisted by galleries.  She makes a living reproducing famous works of art for an online retailer.  The works are reproductions, not forgeries, but the skills are similar, and when a gallery owner approaches Claire with a dubious project, Claire had decisions to make.

I enjoyed both the story and the sections on art in this one.


The above Net Galley teasers (along with others that I've reviewed fully) have been both entertaining and educational.  There have, of course, been some real duds, books that whether I  finished them or abandoned them don't really rate reviews or mention, but the majority of my Net Galley ebooks have been a pleasure.

Istanbul Passage by Joseph Kanon

Istanbul Passage  evokes the atmosphere of late 1945, shortly after the end of the war.  During the war Istanbul remained neutral, and spies from all sides gathered there, but at the time the novel takes place most have departed.

Which is not to mean that unusual machinations had ceased.  Istanbul served as a kind of way station in the efforts to aid Jewish refugees in their efforts to reach Palestine.

After the war millions of displaced Jews who had survived the Nazi regime sought refuge in the newly established Jewish state.  The British had set up quotas that were minuscule to the numbers of survivors seeking to enter.  The story involves not only the smuggling of Jews into Palestine, avoiding the British blockade, but also the effort to smuggle a notorious Nazi collaborator to the U.S.    

Leon Baur finds himself caught up in a number of deceptions that threaten his ethics, his life, and his livelihood.  

Guilt, love, deception, and ethical questions abound in this story of a turbulent time; Leon Baur's difficulties mirror, in a way, the larger difficulties of nations.  Tense drama and great characterization.

Joseph Kanon's novels include Los Alamos (received an Edgar for Best First Novel) and The Good German (made into a film with George Clooney and Cate Blanchett).

I found the novel interesting on a number of levels and thoroughly enjoyed it.

This one was from Net Galley.

Fiction.  Suspense.  2012.  print version -  416 pages.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

Oh, gosh.  I never published this review!

Unbroken by  Laura Hillenbrand is the story of  Louie Zamperini, U.S. track and field star and a participant in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, who hoped to run in the 1940 Olympics.  The war, however, put an end to dreams of the 1940 Olympics, and eventually, Louie found himself a bombardier in the Army Air Corps.

In May, 1943, Louie was part of a mission searching for a missing plane when the engines failed, and his own plane went down in the Pacific Ocean.  Only three men survived the crash, and Louie and his two companions spent a record-breaking 47 days adrift, threatened by a lack of fresh water, a lack of food, and circled by sharks.  The story  of the survival of Louie and the pilot, "Phil" Philips (the third man did not survive) is remarkable enough, but not the end of this tale of courage and endurance.

Louie and Phil were captured by the Japanese.  The Japanese POW camps were notorious for the cruelty, and Louie and Phil were separated and sent to different camps.  From interviews with Louie, Phillips, and other Japanese prisoners, Hillenbrand is able to depict the hell in which these men found themselves.  The Japanese did not abide by the Geneva Conventions, and the camps were a place where minds, emotions, and bodies of many prisoners were broken beyond repair.

The perseverance, the tenacity of these men is inspiring.  The camps in which Louie was held were harrowing for their brutality and cruelty.

Even after surviving the camps, many men were unable to return to civilian life without great trauma.  Those who survived the Japanese camps had a much, much higher rate of suicide than those held in German camps.  On his return after the war, Louie tries to deal with his nightmares with alcohol.  Just when he is about to lose everything, he manages to pull himself out and redeem his life--once again.

Unbroken is a great read and a great testament to the endurance of the human spirit..



Nonfiction.  Biographical.  2010.  496 pages.

Before the Last All Clear by Ray Evans

Before the Last All Clear is the personal memoir of Ray Evans, who was one of the millions of children (yes, millions--what a remarkable undertaking!) evacuated from London during WWII.  It was an ARC from Mr. Evans.

Product Description

Some recall it as the greatest adventure of their lives. For others, being a wartime evacuee was a nightmare. These are the witty yet deeply poignant memories of a man still haunted by the cruelties he endured. During World War II, around three and a half million British children were evacuated away from possible air raids in the big cities in one of the largest social upheavals Great Britain has ever seen. One of those children was Ray Evans. This is the story of a young evacuee from Liverpool sent to live in the Welsh town of Llanelli. Separated from his mother, brothers and sisters, six-year old Ray was dispatched to a series of families who ignored, exploited and brutalised him. Pushed from pillar to post, he finally finds happiness with a family who make him so welcome that he is reluctant to leave when war ends. Set in a world of ration books, air-raid sirens and ever-present danger, this is a candid and direct account of wartime Britain as seen through the eyes of a child.

------------------

 Evacuated in 1939 with his mother and brothers and sisters, Ray and his brother Frank originally shared the same billet with a family in which the husband was kind, but the wife was totally insensitive. 

The written rules Mrs. Jones handed to Ray and Frank when they first arrived included:  No relatives or friends to be invited into the house at any time; Do not enter the house by the front door; Upstairs bathroom is out of bounds, use the sink in the scullery; The Parlour and Dining-rooms are out of bounds; The pantry is our of bounds; Every morning, empty and clean chamber pot...and more.

Eventually, Frank got a new billet (after an accident with the chamber pot), and six-year-old Ray was left alone, especially after the husband died.  While it is difficult to see how anyone could be so callous concerning such a young and helpless child, Ray had a hard time convincing the woman in charge of finding homes to move him.  There simply were not enough homes available.

After about two years, Ray is moved.  However, things go from bad to worse... 

Ray does, eventually, have some better experiences and finally arrives at a home that truly takes him to their hearts.  It has, however, taken years, and without doubt, Ray's sense of trust has been damaged by his experiences, but he blossoms when he finally receives loving care.

Ray Evans is not a professional writer, but he has written a touching memoir concerning his experiences.  It is the only first-hand account I've read about the evacuees and was informative in both the general and the particular.

                                

Above are posters from the era.  And below a photo of some of the children as they leave for their new homes.       

      More about the evacuations can found in the following links.

                      

Operation Pied Piper

"Keeping control of the whole thing became a joyless task. 'The trains were coming in thick and fast,' says Geoffrey Barfoot who had been seconded from the town hall to act as a billeting officer in Weston Super Mare. 'It was soon obvious that we just didn't have the bed space.'"

"I'll Take that One

As a result of the mismatches, selection was made according to rudimentary principles. Billeting officers simply lined the children up against a wall or on a stage in the village hall, and invited potential hosts to take their pick. Thus the phrase 'I'll take that one' became etched on the memory of our evacuees.

Steve Davis, a clinical psychologist specialising in the study of war trauma, says this was the first of many moments that caused upset and humiliation for the evacuees and put their welfare under serious threat. 'It was little more than a paedophile's charter', says Davis, whose work involves counselling former evacuees."

For some children, the experiences were wonderful, but for others, devastating.  While the percentage of misery may have been small in numbers, the effects on the children were large and long-lasting.

The Times

Has lots of links and articles.

Destinations included Wales (where Ray's family were), Canada, and Australia.

Many children remained in their new homes for six years.

Nonfiction.  Memoir/History.  2006.  228 pages.

Citizens of London by Lynne Olson

Olson, Lynne.  Citizens of London:  The Americans Who Stood With Britain In Its Darkest,   Finest Hour.

An extremely readable work about the U.S. citizens who joined Britain early in their battle and encouraged the involvement of the United States in the war against Germany.  Those who experienced the hardships along with the British-- the Blitz, the fear, the destruction, and the deprivation --saw the threat of Germany more clearly than anyone in Washington.

Most of us are familiar with the names of Edward R. Murrow and Averell Harriman even after all these years, but I was not familiar with John Gilbert Winant, and Winant, though almost forgotten in the course of history, deserves the most credit as a man and a diplomat.

In the early part of the war, as Britain stood alone and the U.S. stood aloof, the courage, resolution, and perseverance of the British people, particularly those in London who endured the Blitz, is inspiring.  The love of the British people for Winant, who made himself accessible to everyone, who wandered the streets during the bombing asking what he could do to help, whose word proved always trustworthy is well-documented.

Murrow's broadcasts giving first hand accounts of the situation in London were meant to encourage the U.S. to offer help to the British, the last bastion of freedom in Europe.  He was frequently frustrated with the lack of understanding that the American government exhibited about what would happen if Britain failed.

FDR does not come off particularly well; he seemed incapable of understanding the significance of the threat and unable to make a decision unless it was politically popular.  The help that was eventually offered had strings attached intended to weaken post-war Britain and strengthen the United States in the post-war period.

The book offers remarkable insight into the war, some of the essential players, and even into the efforts (or lack thereof) of post-war planning.  The United States was not the perfect ally I'd grown up believing--egos and politics and power plays, then as now, often defeat reasonable thinking.

There is no way for me to give a real overview of the book which covers so much in an interesting manner.  There are plenty of people to admire and plenty to castigate.  There are details that intrigue, details that inspire, and details that sadden.

Although I read it slowly, pausing at times to revert to my other reading, the book stayed in my thoughts.  It still gives me a lot to think about.   Focusing on the war in Britain, the wider range is presented more briefly.  After Pearl Harbor, the scope widens as the Allies try to agree on appropriate military response.

Anyone interested in WWII history should include Citizens of London; this history is absorbing, extremely well documented, and entirely readable.  I'd also like to read Olson's other books:  The Murrow Boys and Troublesome Young Men.

I'm most interested, however, in John Gilbert Winant and would love to read the biography He Walked Alone by Bernard Bellush, but it is out of print and the copies available are way to expensive for me.

Highly recommended.

Nonfiction.  History/WWII.  2010.  394 pages + extensive notes and bibliography.

The Innocent Spy

Wilson, Laura.  The Innocent Spy.

I found this novel interesting  for several reasons:  part of the storyline is based on true events, and one of the characters is based on Charles Maxwell Knight (head of the counter-subversion department of MI5 during WWII and thought to be the model for James Bond's boss, M); other characters are also based on real people.  The novel also presents  a slightly different view of the blitz than I've encountered before, as well as the emotional stress suffered by  parents who sent their children away from London during the nightly bombings.

Detective Ted Stratton becomes involved with the murder of a silent film star that has officially been designated suicide or accident.  His investigation eventually brings him into contact with Diana Colthorp who is participating in a covert operation for MI5.

While parts of the novel are a bit slow, the storyline concerning MI5 and espionage is informative.  Detective  Stratton is likable and believable, concerned about things being swept under the rug for "security" reasons, aware of how the game is played, but not necessarily happy about it.  Diana Colthorpe, realizing that she has made a mistake in her marriage, takes the job in MI5 to escape an oppressive mother-in-law after her husband's enlistment.  She finds her new independence and job exciting, but eventually realizes that the complex layers involved are darker than she imagined.

Originally published as Stratton's War.

Fiction.  Historical Mystery.  2008.  447 pages.

The Gift of Rain

Eng, Tan Twan. The Gift of Rain.

I actually finished this book before finishing the last several books I've recently reviewed, but wasn't ready to write about it. Now that it has fermented a while in my thoughts, I'll attempt the review.

First, this is Eng's debut novel and it made the long list for the Man Booker Prize in 2007. Eng's prose is elegant and flowing, and he quickly and skillfully sets the scene so well that I immediately felt drawn into the atmosphere of the island of Penang, Malaya.

Philip Hutton, an old man in his seventies, has lived on the island all of his life. The arrival of an unexpected visitor forces (or allows) him to review some of the most important events in his life: his relationship with his family; his friendship with his Japanese mentor Endo, an Akaido master; and the occupation of Penang by the Japanese during the war.

The complex relationship between Hutton and Endo is the crux of the novel. Endo-san, a Japanese diplomat, trains the young Philip in Akaido and introduces him to Zen Buddhism. This training aids Philip in many ways and helps prepare for him for the eventual declaration of war and the occupation of the island by the Japanese.

Endo's interest in Philip, however, has subtle indications of manipulation and self-interest. The reasons are two-fold: first, a past-life connection, and second, although Malaya denies the possibilities of war and occupation, Endo is well aware of what is coming. His friendship and love for Philip are genuine, but the circumstances of his position and personal history are incontrovertible.

One important facet of the novel deals with some fascinating details of the island itself, the pre-war attitude and the brutal occupation. In a historical sense, Eng's portrayal of the time period is absorbing and informative. (I've known a couple of men, contemporaries of my father, who survived Japanese prisoner-of-war camps and the Bataan Death March in the Phillipines, so I had a personal interest and curiosity.)

There are so many moral ambiguities in this novel about right, wrong, survival, and betrayal. I couldn't write the review immediately upon finishing the book because my mind was so busy considering these ambiguities.

It is also a novel about growing up. Philip is the youngest child in his family, the child of a second marriage, the child of mixed parentage (his mother was Chinese)...and he felt always felt out of place. His journey to adulthood involves resolving some family issues over three generations. This was my favorite part of the novel--watching Philip begin to understand more about his siblings, his parents, and his grandfather.

The disturbing portions of the novel leave the reader on his own; Eng leaves the decisions up to the reader. Even Phillip, the narrator, leaves events and judgments open.

Betrayal, deception, collaboration, and human brutality are always a part of war, but they leave us wondering about what our own reactions to circumstances would be. Eng handles these elements beautifully, without attempting to manipulate our emotions.

The cruelty that occurred during Japanese occupation is presented, but not graphically dwelled on; Eng presents scenes of horrific inhumanity because these things occurred, not to wring maudlin tears from his readers.

"Memories--they are all the aged have. The young have hopes and dreams, while the old hold the remains of them in their hands and wonder what has happened to their lives. I looked back hard on my life that night, from the moments of my reckless youth, through the painful and tragic years of the war, to the solitary decades after. Yes, I could say that I had lived my life, if not to the full then at least almost to the brim. What more could one ask?"

I suspect this novel will be on my list of favorites for the year, partly because of beautiful writing, the evocative descriptions, and the character development, and partly because it left me faintly uneasy, still pondering events and relationships.

Fiction. Historical fiction. 2007. 444 pages.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Shaffer, Mary Ann, and Annie Barrows. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

Perhaps my favorite book this year. Dear Reader, I loved this book. I loved the characters, I loved the epistolary style, I loved the history, I loved the plot. I loved the literary references and the importance of books. The only thing that I didn't love was finishing this delightful novel.

Don't let the title fool you. Whimsical as it is (and I don't believe I mentioned that I loved the title AND the cover), the novel is not all whimsy and good humor. The subject matter - the occupation of the Channel Islands during WWII - is serious, well-researched, and detailed.

Did I mention the influence of Charles Lamb? Charles Lamb, my favorite essayist, is influential in establishing the initial contact between Juliet Ashton and the Guernsey Literary Society, and Mr. Lamb makes his presence felt throughout if only in a minor way.

I don't want to tell too much. This is a book that should be personally discovered by every lover of books and literature; the wit, the charm, and the literary delight are ever present, and ever balanced by the serious consequences of German Occupation.

Lesley's review first caught my interest, so when I saw it at the library, I couldn't resist. This, however, is a book that I'd like to own and return to whenever the need for it might arise.

Other reviews: Marg, Kay, and Katherine

Fiction. Historical novel and much more. 2008. 274 pages.

The Zookeeper's Wife

Ackerman, Diane. The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story. Jan and Antonina Zabinski lived in a villa on the grounds of the Warsaw Zoo; Jan had become director in 1929, and when he and Antonina were married in 1931, they both devoted themselves to the zoo. For several years, the couple enjoyed their unique association with the zoo animals, and Jan worked at creating "an innovative zoo of world importance at the heart of Warsaw's life, both social and cultural..."

Antonina, with her unusual sensitivity to the zoo animals, was as much a part of the zoo's success as Jan, as deeply in love with its inhabitants, and as actively involved in promotion of its beauty and opportunities. In August of 1939, however, the threat of invasion presaged the end of their comfortable life of serving and caring for their beloved animals. And then, with terrible swiftness, their zoo was decimated by the Nazi regime.

This is the story of the German invasion and occupation of Poland and of the terrible events that ensued, including the confining of the Jewish population in the Warsaw Ghetto, the eventual transportation of the the surviving Jews to concentration camps, the final destruction of the Ghetto, the destruction of Warsaw...and the personal efforts of both the Polish resistance and courageous individuals in rescuing and harboring as many Jews as they could. More specifically, this book is the story of the "Guests" that Jan and Antonina hid in their home and on the zoo grounds at the risk of their own lives.

It is a terrible and wonderful story of real people and quiet courage. In an earlier post, I discussed the book and gave some links that provide background to the entire Warsaw story.

Ackerman has done a fine job in bringing to light the role the Warsaw zoo and Jan and Antonina Zabinski played in saving the lives of over 300 Jews. Relying on extensive research and on Antonina's diaries, Ackerman often digresses, but she never plays on your emotions in her presentation of events. Liberated in 1945, Warsaw's pre-war population of "one hundred and a half million people" was estimated in early 1946 at "half a million at most"--with "living space for a tenth that number," according to Dr. Joseph Tenenbaum. One million Poles and Polish Jews dead or, in a small percentage of cases, successfully escaped from the city to safety elsewhere. Hard to imagine.

Endangered Species: Jews and Buffaloes. An excellent article relating the terrible effect of the invasion on the zoo animals, the plundering of the rare animals by Lutz Heck, Natzi attempts at genetic engineering to "reconstruct" extinct animals, the new purpose of the zoo as a shelter and escape route for Jews, and more.

Nonfiction. Biography/ history. 2007. W.W. Norton & Co. 323 pages.

Another review can be found at CaribousMom.